Reducing stress one exhale at a time …exploring Southern California and beyond

Home again, Home again…

We’re back! After a wonderful family reunion in Morro Bay, we’ve arrived home. Darwin was happy–well, I think he was happy to see me. Of course, his vacation’s over, too. Part of the deal was that I’d let him have a little broccoli and some of his goodies, if he’d stay home and not wander off. Tomorrow–back to eating grass!

Darwin isn’t the only one who needs to eat grass…I may resort to a similar diet for a few weeks days.

Last night’s dinner–crab cake tacos–WOW! Even the Morro Bay Mexican restaurants have excellent seafood. The crab cakes are topped with fried potatoes–that was a surprise! The tortillas are in there somewhere. Not your typical camp food, though, is it?

Let me show you why we were definitely eating indoors last night…

Saturday bright sunshine. Sunday, the fog rolled in, obscuring the view of the Bay and even hiding the BIG rock!

Saturday

Sunday

Now you see it…Now you don’t!

Saturday

Sunday

Boy! Did that fog roll in!

On a summer day, the Embarcadero in Morro Bay can be foggy, wet, and in the low 60’s while perhaps no more than a mile away the sun is shining brightly and temperatures hover in the high 70’s or low 80’s.

Saturday in the city

Completely shrouded in fog!

We were really fortunate to have several days of warmth and sunshine. And with no fog cover on Saturday night, I did get a good peek at the Supermoon. It was the evening’s entertainment as we sat around the campfire.

I’ll just give you a little sneak preview of some of the places we visited along the way.

I did tell you it was a beautiful place to spend our time, didn’t I?

It’s still good to be home…and it won’t be long before I’ll be thinking about a way to return.

Now it’s time to settle into a good week, relaxed and FULL of happy memories.

It was a really good time for us to pull away from responsibility, but I’m glad to be home. I am usually at my very best with routine. LOL! Not very exciting, but that’s just how it is. Still, getting away for a short break is good for us, I know! ox

I almost didn’t share the photo of the crab cakes, Tricia! The memory of the meal came to me as I was sitting there composing! I was hungry, too! I think I ate so much over the last few days that I’m fixated on food at the moment…Now I need to find the “shut off valve.” :-) ox

I stood in drippy fog for several minutes just taking pelican photos. I’m so silly…he really didn’t do much. All the photos are quite similar, but I found him engaging nonetheless. Thank you so much for stopping by, CCU. Now it’s time for me to get back to seeing what everyone else has been up to for the last several days. :-)

Now it does look as though we have a few posts to look forward to… lovely photos of wonderful places… I love the fog photos.. and the dogs at the seas ,, wonderful… the pelican, now I’m jealous.. and I can’t wait to see the cormorant photos.. see if we can help ID which one it is… I just love trees and these look marvelous… don’t take too long to share… glad you had a good time…

Thank you, Rob. My husband had to turn around and leave town on business again this morning, so my evenings will be quite free! Time to get caught up with reading my favorite blogs and lots of picture organizing time. :-)

Sounds like it was a great break – just what you need now and then to get you through another week! We had thick cloud Sunday night, so the supermoon remained lost to us, but I did see it the night before – also beautiful!

You know, Cathy, I really doubt any of us are unaware of the moon’s beauty. We all pay attention to it, I think–hard not to! But all the talk about the Supermoon has made me even more aware of how I need to make a point of going outdoors every night and admiring its beauty. I was fortunate to have a good view this time. That’s not always been the case! We did have a good time, but I’m also glad to be home. Thank you! :-)

This is an incredibly beautiful part of the state, Marie. Every time I go I come back even more enthused, and with dozens and dozens of photos. I’ll be sharing more with you later, simply because I can’t get enough. LOL! I hope you have a wonderful week. I’m just now getting back to reading and seeing what you’ve all been up to! :-)

The tacos weren’t at all what I expected, but now I have to go all the way back to Morro Bay so I can have them again! LOL! Maybe I’ll figure out a way to replicate the recipe and I’ll share that sometime! :-)

Today is the emotional letdown day! I did have such a lovely time with family I don’t see often. It’s hard to gear up and then so quickly move on…but isn’t that what we do! I think I’m going to encourage a few more meet-ups and not waiting quite so long! :-)

Oh, Debra, to tease with those crabcakes! I love crabcakes, remember each place I’ve had them, now, your enticing photo. Hungry, and it’s only 9 am.

Welcome back! It sounds, and looks, like you have a marvelous time with family and relaxation. It is amazing how the fog obliterated the view, and those woods, that walkaway, I can almost hear the roar of the surf. Now, enjoy your week getting back to routine. Penny (glad Darwin got along as well).

We laughed and laughed at the crabcake tacos, Penny. I envisioned flaked crabcake in a soft tortilla, and out came this masterpiece! It was delicious, I must say! I didn’t let the size of the plate deter me one bit.

I will be sharing more about the photos and the natural coastal beauty in the weeks to come, no doubt. One reason I carry on as I do is that although this entire region is relatively easy for us to visit, we simply haven’t! And now I’m kind of kicking myself for lost opportunities, but also planning to make up the time when possible! I had a wonderful time, but it did feel good to get home! ox

We enjoyed being away, but you know the “there’s no place like home” upon return. :-) Darwin had good care…and good food. Now I have to feel sorry for him as I take it all away. Life is so unfair, even for a tortoise!

There are parts of California I honestly think are incomparable. It helps balance out the parts that are overpopulated and not very enjoyable. :-) I like to highlight the good stuff. LOL! Come see me sometime, Natalie!

This Aussie agrees with your ‘..parts of CA are incomparable’ comment, Debra. Rod and I drove from SF to LA via the Pacific Coast Highway on a few occassions and it is a truly stunning part of the world. Big Sur, sigh! In Victoria we have something called The Great Ocean Road. It comes close, but the sea mists rolling in along PCH are just sublime. I’m a big mist and fog fan, they’re up there on the list of my most favourite things.
I’m about to spend a week overlooking the sea while my bathroom is made more disability friendly. I should be getting organised, but here I am playing blogs. :) love your photos, and the wonderful stories you share, Debra. Take care. Hugs Tricia.

It’s so delightful for me to hear that you and Rod really enjoyed PCH, Tricia. I can hardly believe how many Californians have never really traveled the full stretch you recall. When our children were very young, Tricia, we traveled from the CA/Oregon border to San Francisco on Hwy 1 in a motorhome! It was treacherous! Ha! One child was carsick and I was scared half to death because the road was so narrow and winding. We didn’t realize that once you get started on that stretch you can’t get off, or at least you couldn’t back then. And we didn’t know what we were in for! It was incredibly beautiful but probably a foolish idea. I’m so glad you have those happy memories with your dear husband. And thank you for sharing that memory with me.
You may have already taken off for the time at the sea, but I hope you have a very restful time. It sounds like that new bathroom remodel is very timely and will help you immensely. I’m glad you are prioritizing that effort. Keep treating yourself well, my friend. ox

Now that photo of the crab cakes… That was ONE serving? Gazooks! That is a LOT of food… Sometimes I wish these eateries would cut down on the portions but charge the same price. Sounds silly, sure, but why waste it?

Your pictorial was excellent as always, Ms. Photographer! How did you get that pic of the two dogs (one’s a Corgi!) running towards the surf? Were you on a pier? And I only thought SF had fog… That pelican, too… It must be pretty used to humans! Is it a fixture there?

Yes, Koji, I was on the Cayucos Pier, just north of Morro Bay. Cayucos is a dog-friendly town and there were many dogs playing on the beach. I think Morro Bay is in the same “fog belt” that continues all the way up the coast to the Bay Area. Some of the old oaks had moss hanging in the trees. There isn’t much rain, but plenty of moisture! Thank you so much for the kind compliments on the photography. It’s hard to miss when everything is so beautiful! :-)

Lovely photos, Debra. Looks like quite a wonderful place to visit . . . and eat . . . and visit again. Glad that Darwin got treats while you were away. And glad to hear that you’re happy at home again.

I always feel the same after a get-away. It feels terrific to open our front door and step inside.

It looks like you had a lovely time away and I’m sure Darwin was very pleased to see you again. I’m glad I got to see your super-moon as we’ve had so much rain and cloud it was impossible to glimpse it here in Sydney. We’ve had a lot of fog here too xx

Welcome home, Debra! It certainly looks like you stayed in a great park and saw some wonderful sights. That was some fog and I’m glad it didn’t ruin your Supermoon viewing. As nice as a vacation can be, I always enjoy getting back to my own home. That first night in my own bed is pure bliss — until Max rolls over. :)

It did feel really good to get home, John. I’m not really much of a traveler. I was so happy to be with my family and it was great to see some very beautiful natural settings, but I enjoy being home, too. I am going to share a little bit more about the fog at some point, because it is such a natural part of that state. It’s kind of an interesting weather event. I think I get more excited than necessary about anything weather-related in our state–there is more than sun and heat! :-)

Dear Debra, I can see today that just visiting each of the blogs I follow one time a week is going to mean that I’ll miss a lot of your life and its adventures. I hope that come fall I’ll be back in harness and will once again travel with your on your many journeys throughout California. Peace.

I’ll make you a deal, Dee. If something really BIG happens or is particularly important (ha, in my mind, I suppose), I’ll knock on your “door” and make sure you know. :-) You keep doing all the wonderful things you’re doing…blogging is just one facet of a very full life. ox

Dear Debra, PS, I don’t know whether your site tells you about each comment or not. But I left a long response to your response to my comment (wow, how convoluted is that!) for your June 19th posting. Peace.

Thank you, Shakti, we really did enjoy our time away. It was even more special because we were visiting so many members of our family who all came together for a reunion. Thank you for stopping by and sharing the photos with me. :-)

I’m glad I could share a few photos from the beautiful coastline, and yes, it really was very relaxing! I wanted to ask about your other site. I noted there wasn’t a “follow” button. Was that your intention for now? I can still put the URL in the reader , but if for some reason you weren’t aware of this omission, I just wanted you to know! With the trouble you’ve had with the previous blog you are probably still in transition! The reviews are very helpful! :-)

You have encouraged me to think about taking some of my photos and doing a little more than just “visit” them on the computer screen! Thank you for stopping by Lilli, and I’m so glad you enjoyed revisiting some of the coast with me! :-)

Somehow I enjoy the fog on the coast more than when it is inland. I think I just expect it at the beach and it is calming. I quiet my activity in a foggy environment whereas the sun energizes. Thank you for the comment on the photo of the pelican and the tree. I took dozens of photos of “that guy”–I don’t know why. He barely moved. :-)

Thank you, Vivian. I loved that chess set when we came upon it for the first time in Morro Bay. I am so appreciative when a city takes an interest in providing a little whimsy! Thank you very much for stopping by. Debra